Resilient wheel.



W. J. SMITH. RESILIENT WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED 11011.27, 1908.

990,789. Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

vtion on the line Z-, Fig

WJLLLJLAML 3. SMITH, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNQR OF ONE-HALF TO.'WILLIAM S. HENNESSY, JR., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RESILIENT WHEEL To all whom it may concern:

Bc it known that I, W'ILLiAM J. Sirrrir, a citizen oi the United States,residing` at Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of lilfassachnsetts,have invented an Improvement in Resilient Wheels, of which the followingdescription. in connection with the acizon'ipanying drawing, is alspecication, like letters on the drawing representing` like parts.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel resilientl wheelcapable of use on carriages, wagons, automobiles, bicycles and othersimilar vehicles;

ln the present inventionj the spokes are made resilient .and the end ofeach spoke is pivotally connected to the rim of the wheel by a link. Theresiliency of the wheel is secured by the resiliency of the spokes.

ji structure embodying my invention will irst be described then thenovel features thereof will be pointed outJ in the appended claim.

ln the drawings, Figure l is a side View ot a wheel embodying myinvention with a portion of' the rim broken out to better show theconstruction; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sec- `\1; Fig. 3 is an enlargedsection on thelin -3, Fig. l. v T he wheel comprisesl theliiih 3, thespokes e and the rini 'lhe spokes flare straight. and are rigidlysecured to the hub. Each spoke is made resilient, it preferably beingmore resilient near the outer end ot' the spoke than toward the hub.rlhe spokes a may be made in any suitable way to secure this result, andI have herein shown each of them as in the form of a leatspring which ismade up of a central leaf or leaves G that extend the full length of the.spoke and of progressively shorter outside leaves 7. 'This manner ofmaking the spokes, however, is not essential to the invention.Each'spoke has pivoted thereto at its outer end as at lli :i link t)which is preferably non-resilient, 'lhese links extend tangentially fromthe ends of the spokes and are pi'votally connected to the rim 5. 'l` herim is herein shown as having a plurality of blocks il, secured theretoto which. the links 9 are pivoted as at l2. The rim 5 is preferably ofmetal and will have a rubber' tread surface 13.1. een rounding thesaine.`' Said rim is shown as Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led November 27, 1908.

Patented Apr. 25. Mill, Serial No. 64,631.

having secured thereto on each side thereof a flange or side piece 11iwhich is wide enough to extend/over the outer'ends of the spokes. Eachside piece 14 is formed with an inwardly-directed Harige 15 therebytoforrn an annular compartment in which the links 9 and-the ends of thespokes are re ceived. The inwardly-directed flanges l5' are cut away 'at1G to form openings for extending spokes, however, do oder resistance tothe downward movement of the huh because said spokes are rigidly securedto4 the huh and the outer ends ot the spokes are sustained by the links9. The load is, therefore, supported entirely by the spokes which have ageneral horizontal direction, and the resiliency with which the load issupported is secured by the resilient qualities of the spokesy as willhe evident.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to securehy Let,- ters Patent is:- f

ln a resilient wheel, the combination with a hub, 01E-resilient, spokesrigidly secured thereto, a rim, a plurality of blocks 1l secured to theinner face ot the rim, side pieces ift overlying the rim and extendinginwardly, each side piece having an inwardly-directed flange 15 whichengages the spokes, links situated entirely between the side pieces andpivotally connected to theepokes, and bolts extending through the sidepieces, blocks and links and operating to pivotally connect the links tothe blocks and to secure the side pieces to the rini.

.ln testimony whereof, have signed my name to this speciiication, in thepresnce of two subscribing Witnesses.

WLl'll/i il. SMTH. lWi misses Lorrie G. Smm, Fannie-:niort S. Giinnmimr.

